Bolivia arrests attorney general Mariaca over drug-trafficking allegations
Bolivian authorities arrested attorney general Roger Mariaca as part of an operation investigating alleged drug trafficking and money laundering inside the prosecution service. The government reported 14 arrests across an operation involving several cities. Mariaca denies the allegations. His detention follows US visa restrictions, while Bolivia’s president pursues closer security ties with Washington.
Geopolitics··Morning
Mariaca is detained in a prosecution-service operation
Bolivian authorities arrested attorney general Roger Mariaca in Santa Cruz as part of an investigation into alleged drug trafficking and money laundering within the prosecution service. The government reported 14 arrests in an operation involving prosecution offices in Santa Cruz, La Paz and Sucre. Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo said the authorities were investigating a criminal organisation operating inside the institution. Mariaca denies the allegations.[1], [2]
The raids reach several prosecution offices
Those detained included prosecutors, prosecution employees and people linked to the transport of cash, according to the government’s account. Claudia Pardo, the prosecution service’s communications chief, was detained after condemning the raids as unlawful. Mariaca became attorney general in 2024. Luis Montaño Morales was appointed to serve temporarily in his place, providing a replacement for the head of the office while the domestic case proceeds.[1]
Domestic arrests follow the US visa decision
The US State Department had revoked Mariaca’s visa and accused him of taking bribes to facilitate drug trafficking and help violent criminals evade justice. Bolivia’s arrest operation is a domestic judicial process following that earlier administrative decision. President Rodrigo Paz has pursued closer relations with Washington, and Oviedo said the investigation involved cooperation with US authorities. In March, Bolivia captured suspected trafficker Sebastián Marset and sent him to the United States.[1]
